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North Korea Launches Missile and Tries To Jam GPS Signals (go.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Hours after North Korea fired a short-range missile into the sea in retaliation for ongoing U.S. join military drills with South Korea, they started jamming GPS navigation systems near its border with South Korea, affecting hundreds of fishing boats but not causing any immediate danger. There were no disruptions to drivers' satellite navigation system or air traffic, but warning messages were broadcast in affected areas warning ships not to rely on their GPS navigation. In a statement, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said: "North Korea has been continuously disrupting GPS system since 7:30 pm [Thursday] and thereby interfering and hampering our military movements, which is threatening the safety of our people."

24 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by kheldan · · Score: 3, Informative

    The little dog that used to just go yap yap yap is now frothing at the mouth, too. Isn't it time to euthenize it?

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    1. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The little dog's owner is China, and even if the owner admits their dog is out of control, it is still their dog. No-one wants to kill China's dog.

      I do like metaphors. They can stretch so many ways.

    2. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by peragrin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The difference is k47 armed afghans and iraqis don't have a leadership. you can't cut off the snake's head to kill it. As there isn't a head to cut. Hitler killing himself ended world war II, what would have happened if the SS instead of surrendering became a gorilla fighting force that never gave up?

      The USA Army walked over the iraqi army like it wasn't there. however once the big army battles were done, then the real trouble began. Only idiots didn't see it coming.(yes they happened to be in washington DC at that time)

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    3. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      https://www.reddit.com/r/AskRe...

      The idea struck me as funny and I found this today.

    4. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by Kjella · · Score: 2

      The difference is k47 armed afghans and iraqis don't have a leadership. you can't cut off the snake's head to kill it. As there isn't a head to cut. Hitler killing himself ended world war II, what would have happened if the SS instead of surrendering became a gorilla fighting force that never gave up?

      They'd become an army of trained monkeys? As for a few rebel SS soldiers, the US lost 407,300 men in WWII so a few thousand more (for comparison 4496 in Iraq, 2326 in Afghanistan) would barely hit the noise floor. If they were defending US territory nobody would even begin to question it, it's not like the casualties are any significant drain on the US armed forces. The only reason it is an issue is whether or not the US should be fighting/fixing fucked up countries on the other side of the globe, just like with Korea and Vietnam. Unlike say Pearl Harbor...

      --
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    5. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Part of the problem the US faces is that whenever it is talked about how such a bad idea the recent wars it undertook over in the Middle East all that is mentioned is the few thousand American troops lost and the money it cost the US to wage the wars. One almost never hears about the costs inflected on Afghanistan and Iraq.

      Hundreds of thousands have died and many times that number have been maimed because of those actions. Millions upon millions of lives have been ruined. And yet all we hear from the US is the problems that the wars caused for them. Maybe the country would have more good will if it showed more sympathy towards the victims of its actions instead of showing support to politicians who propose carpet bombing areas of the Middle East.

    6. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Which is why you have nothing to complain about with regards to what happened on 9/11.

    7. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Your analogy only works if there was someone who poked you in the eye with a sharp stick. Or at least if you shot the person who poked you. In this case someone pokes you with a stick, you pull out a gun, shoot randomly into a crowd of people in the opposite direction, and then complain loudly about the ringing in your ears.

    8. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by Aighearach · · Score: 2

      No need to invade, just destroy the missiles, artillery, and armor and call it done.

    9. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by tsotha · · Score: 2

      Right, right. That's why they Taliban is running Afghanistan.

    10. Re:Haven't we all had enough of this shit? by DRJlaw · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The little dog that used to just go yap yap yap is now frothing at the mouth, too. Isn't it time to euthenize it?

      ...

      I like how you call them dogs and get an openly racist comment modded up to +5, you racist piece of shit.

      I believe both the original post and the first reply used the term "dog" (note: signular) to refer to the nation, not the term "dogs" to refer to the people. That would make them nationalist pieces of shit, not racist pieces of shit, you ignorant, race-baiting piece of shit.

  2. Re: Leave them alone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Mostly it's a sign that we have South Korea's back and neither will be intimidated by North Korea's antics. If anything, North Korea is stirring things up by continuing to launch missiles, conducting nuclear tests, and making threats. I find it hard to look at this and see how either South Korea, Japan, or the US could be considered provocative in this situation. The US stirs up plenty of trouble elsewhere, but we're not doing that here. If anything, we've tried to cooperate more with China on appropriate sanctions, which is a step in the right direction.

  3. Re: Slashvertisement? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's whiplash's way of trolling people who complain that every article about a new product is a paid advertisement. It's a joke for April Fool's Day.

  4. Toddler tantrums by Bruce66423 · · Score: 2

    AFAICS North Korea is best interpreted as a toddler who is indulging in tantrums to get attention. If that's the case, we have a problem. The normal toddler can be safely ignored while it goes on and on. However such a brat is not capable of doing any real damage. Whilst we may wish to assume that the NK leadership isn't suicidal, that's a hard call given just how nutty they seem to be. However it may be the best solution - just ignore them at a real level, although letting their latest threats get into the media so they don't feel totally ignored and so raise the stakes. But it could be worse - they could believe they will be rewarded in an afterlife for being destructive...

    1. Re:Toddler tantrums by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      No, it's best understood as a authoritarian absolute monarchy in which the king's subject need to be continually remined of how great and undefeatable he is (the latter is very very very important). This has precious little to do with anything outside NK's borders.

      --
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  5. Re:Jamming GPS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's really no such thing as "jam proof" - merely resistant. Even directional antennas are not perfectly directional, and will still receive off-axis signals, just at some attenuated strength. Any sufficiently strong nearby source can overwhelm a much more distant and weaker source.

    In a "real" war, it wouldn't be jamming that is the problem anyway. The problem would be that the GPS constellation would go bye-bye from the other guy's anti-sat weapons. Not that many countries have those, but the most sophisticated adversaries do have them.

  6. Re:Leave them alone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The US actually likes to provoke NK. If NK gets riled up, it gives the US more excuses to place more troops or missile defenses in S. Korea/Japan. These missile defenses would do nothing to help S. Korea, considering that N. Korea has tons of artillery already pointed towards Seoul which is only a few miles from the border. Instead they only use is to help contain both Russia + China. More so towards containing China.

  7. Re:Training? by avgjoe62 · · Score: 2

    The thing is that the north Korean people need to solve this

    And that has worked out so well for the people in Syria, Egypt, and Libya.

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  8. Re:No GPS by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

    Probably a technology test. Jamming GPS in a conflict would inconvenience the south and their allies a lot more than the north, so it's understandable they'd want the capability.

  9. Re:Leave them alone? by Aighearach · · Score: 2

    I wonder what is there to be gained by provoking them with militarily exercises?

    Eat a little too much propaganda for breakfast?

    The purpose of military training exercises is not to "provoke" somebody, that is childish and silly.

    The purpose is to practice fighting in the conditions that a war might take place in. In case it happens.

    If we wanted to "provoke" them, we would just fire artillery across the border, and watch them be provoked.

  10. Re:Leave them alone? by Alumoi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The purpose of military training exercises is not to "provoke" somebody, that is childish and silly.

    Unless you're doing it in front of their house.

  11. Re:Leave them alone? by dcollins117 · · Score: 2

    The purpose is to practice fighting in the conditions that a war might take place in. In case it happens.

    We gathered valuable information about North Koreas ability to jam GPS and some experience doing operations under those conditions. So, seems like a net gain for the US to me.

  12. Re:Jamming GPS? by ihtoit · · Score: 2

    any idea how much energy is required just to reach the GPS system?

    ON TOP OF WHICH, you have to go ballistic to 12,540 miles, in 6 staggered orbits 60 degrees apart, and take out a significant number of the 32 birds to the point where it is impossible to get a lock on four at once. Which means taking down 60% of them.

    Easier just to jam it. 1575MHz gear can be had over the counter.

    --
    Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  13. Re:Jamming GPS? by ihtoit · · Score: 2

    http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/... explains why it wouldn't (page 4).

    --
    Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel